Terrence Howard’s lawsuit against the Creative Artists Agency (CAA) sparked a debate over compensation disparities in Hollywood.
The actor claimed that the agency pressured him to accept talent fees that were lower than what he should have gotten. According to an Afrotech report, he earned 30% to 50% less every episode on the blockbuster TV show “Empire.”
“We expect our agents and lawyers to look after us, so we’re free to do all of the work that you guys love so much,” Howard said at a press conference last year, according to Afrotech. “I trusted CAA to look after me, and they looked after themselves.”
He also stated at the time that he was unsure whether the salary disparity was related to a “racial issue”.
Moving forward to 2024, the actor has outlined what he believes he is owed. In an interview on “Straight Talk with Daphne Phaneē,” Howard noted the gap in viewers and pay between “Empire” and “The Big Bang Theory.” Both shows aired on Fox, while the latter included numerous CAA-represented stars. Howard said Empire drew more viewers than The Big Bang Theory. However, the latter made more money than the former.
“Empire had 28 million viewers,” Howard informed anchor Daphne “Phaneē” Wynn. “[The Big Bang Theory] drew 11 million viewers. They were paid $2 million — nearly $3 million — per episode, those white kids. They didn’t have any name recognition or Oscar nominations.”
He claimed to make $325,000 every episode of “Empire,” whereas his white coworkers supposedly earned $2 million to $3 million for a similar show.
He claims that a “packaging deal” between CAA and Fox “incentivized” his representatives to keep his salary modest. As a result, he claims to be entitled to more than $120 million, “based on what would’ve been paid to white counterparts.”
He stated that they received $750,000 for a 30-second advertisement piece. They received it every week from us, but they were encouraged, which is why packaging transactions were illegal.”
Howard claimed that after demanding his money, he was issued a $666 check with an unknown provenance.
“So, I was like, oh, y’all are trying to threaten me,” he told me. “This is a threat right here, and you think I am scared? You think I’ll be quiet about this? Because I’m curious what you’re doing to every other black artist.